Xamarin releases Xamarin 2.0 with Visual Studio support

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Xamarin has released Xamarin 2.0 for developers wanting to use C# to produce Android and iOS apps.

Xamarin has carved out something of a niche by offering C# developers the ability to code apps that work on iOS and Android, two operating systems that do not allow applications to be coded in the language. Now the firm has updated Xamarin to include an integrated development environment (IDE) and the Xamarin Component Store, claiming increases in developer productivity.

Xamarin claims its IDE has been designed specifically for mobile app development. However the firm has also announced the ability to develop iOS applications with Microsoft's Visual Studio IDE.

Microsoft's Mitra Azizirad, GM of Developer Tools Marketing and Sales said, "Xamarin enables our entire developer ecosystem to extend their skills and build apps for all modern device platforms. We are very happy to be working closely with Xamarin to ensure that developers targeting any platform can do so with Visual Studio and C#."

Xamarin has also launched its Component Store, an app store for code snippets. The firm said it has integrated the app store within its own Xamarin Studio IDE and Microsoft Visual Studio.

The firm offers a free Xamarin version to test the waters, though for any real work the price of developing Android and iOS apps in C# is $299. µ